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Actually, I think Orca scooped this news way before AirsoftNews did when he posted pics of the Spartan Import booth at this year's SHOT Show. Pics showed LWRC rifles trademarked ARs. While this is awesome news none the less, CA needs to make sure they do this right because the pics seen so far showed LWRC ARs with trademarks but incorrectly accessorized and the trademark and finish looking kinda so-so.

CA really needs to take a page out of Madbull and Magpul's playbook and get these done as accurately as possible. My hat goes off to them for getting the license, but they really need to work on the follow through.

CA, take the time to do it right! Doing that will help sales more than cutting corners and doing it cheap.

1. The guns charging handle ROCKS. The bolt plate is HEAVY and when you rack that *badgeress* it feels like you've actually got some friction to fight in order to "chamber" a round. Fantastic job CA, i really dig it.

2. The selector switches are AWESOME. The most realistic selector switch ive ever felt on an airsoft gun. For those of us that actually exercise weapon discipline and safety, safetying and unsafetying these weapons is going to be a joy for the end user.

3. The overall design of the guns, to LWRC's credit is very nice. The PSD is a really pointable little gun and should delight CQB users.

Some suggestions would be to have the guns come packaged with MOE accessories. That would greatly increase the value and attractiveness of the guns to consumers. Fix up the CA internals, i get rid of the suspect ball bearings and you've got a genuine winner on your hands so long as the hopup units are performing.

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Here's the future weapons segment about the IAR. I remember thinking at the time 'and the great thing about this is...'. I love Armalites, but I really don't see this as anything to get that excited about.

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Here's the future weapons segment about the IAR. I remember thinking at the time 'and the great thing about this is...'. I love Armalites, but I really don't see this as anything to get that excited about.

Outwardly it doesn't look much different than a regular AR variant. What makes this very attractive in the real steel world is how it operates using an open bolt in full auto which keeps everything cool and minimizes weapon malfunctions. Plus you can bum ammo from other squad mates as it uses AR mags. Personally I'm kinda shocked the 249 isn't being replaced by the IAR and will most likely be replaced by a closed bolt AR style system by Colt or FN... but that's probably more politics than anything.

Yes it doesn't look particularly remarkable. That's really no different than any other AR variant out there. But there's a reason why people go ga-ga over having trademark X on their ARs... it's the illusion that you have something that performs on a whole other level and you like the look of it. In the end though, it's just a Version 2 GB wrapped in parts. But this is airsoft. It's what we do.

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I'm honestly confused.....and while I take on board the suggestion that if you don't like something, then don't post.....I have to ask genuinely if people are really taken by yet another M4 variant.

Yes, I watched the YouTube clip, and yes its all very impressive, the killing potential of the real thing....but in airsoft, its just a case around a very "ordinary" gearbox, that you can find on any other AEG?!?!?......will CA take short cuts and use moulds and dies from their current M4 line up? you bet your butt they will.....so why all the excitment?

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There's a lot of ingenuity in the design of the mechanism I think (in terms of the open bolt functionality), but we moved away from the L86 as a support weapon because... well, you can't use it as a proper light support weapon, 30 round mags just didn't cut it, as many british troops discovered through multiple conflicts over the years. Hence why we bought up the Minimi, the whole idea of the IAR seems rather backwards and hints at narrow minded thinking to be honest.

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I'm honestly confused.....and while I take on board the suggestion that if you don't like something, then don't post.....I have to ask genuinely if people are really taken by yet another M4 variant.

Yes, I watched the YouTube clip, and yes its all very impressive, the killing potential of the real thing....but in airsoft, its just a case around a very "ordinary" gearbox, that you can find on any other AEG?!?!?......will CA take short cuts and use moulds and dies from their current M4 line up? you bet your butt they will.....so why all the excitment?

It's airsoft. The same can be said about any gun that uses a Version 2 GB. They pretty much all perform the same. Some look more different than others. In airsoft it's all about the look. It's 99% illusion.

That's half of the point, actually. The 'automatic rifleman' in a squad now doesn't stick out as badly as a guy with a SAW, so he's less likely to be targeted specifically by the enemy.

Yep. That too.

There's a lot of ingenuity in the design of the mechanism I think (in terms of the open bolt functionality), but we moved away from the L86 as a support weapon because... well, you can't use it as a proper light support weapon, 30 round mags just didn't cut it, as many british troops discovered through multiple conflicts over the years. Hence why we bought up the Minimi, the whole idea of the IAR seems rather backwards and hints at narrow minded thinking to be honest.

On the plus side, with an M4 layout you're not restricted to a 30 round mag. 100 round drum mags seem to be gaining popularity in the military community, and from the sounds of it, drum mags are the primary mag LWRC had in mind when building the IAR. It should also be noted that pretty much all the new rifles being considered for replacement of the current M249 have essentially AR 556 Layouts. The ergonomics of the L86A1 never seemed drum mag friendly to me.

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i agree. i think the whole idea of a support weapon firing from magazines of that low of capacity is absurd. HOWEVER, a lighter, smaller, and less visable weapon IS needed for the role, and the IAR fits that bill. as far as the magazine capacity goes, im sure that if this weapon is adopted, we will arm gunners with a high capacity magazine when it is seen to be needed. in addition, the IAR is not REPLACING the SAW, merely supplementing it, for the occasions when a 200 round belt is not expected to be needed.

and finally, CA has not mentioned anywhere that they are making an IAR, just a LWRC trademarked M6A2 carbine, which in the real world is a fantastic carbine. and with CA quality (yes, i said CA quality because they are infact one fo the best and most successful airsoft companies PERIOD) to back it up, im sure it will be a nice piece to add to any collection, or use in any skirmish. any more news on this rifle, or more plans for CA and LWRC would be great. in addition, any more pictures would be fantastic. is there a signifigant difference (if any) between the M6A2 and PSD?

im glad that CA now have another brand to add to their list. no, this AEG is not "revolutionary" or new, but neither was any AR based AEG for the last few years. now they are just for the slightly different looks, and brands.

if you dont like it, then get out of this thread. im sick of seeing your ######.

you dont see me posting everytime they make another AIMS, AKS, AKMS, AK47, AK74, AKSEXTOOMUCH, etc.

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On the plus side, with an M4 layout you're not restricted to a 30 round mag. 100 round drum mags seem to be gaining popularity in the military community, and from the sounds of it, drum mags are the primary mag LWRC had in mind when building the IAR. It should also be noted that pretty much all the new rifles being considered for replacement of the current M249 have essentially AR 556 Layouts. The ergonomics of the L86A1 never seemed drum mag friendly to me.

Fully understand your points mate, but even with C-Mag type things it still doesn't seem the best idea to me. The L86 didn't only fail because of the magazines to be fair, there was an adapter knocking around to belt feed it, there's just various little things about trying to convert standard individual rifles in to machine gun type weapons that cause problems. The AR-15 gas system for example, does it still use that? I'm no expert but I'd think your working parts are gonna get real messy real fast with all the propulsion gases blasting back in to the receiver at support weapon rates of fire. Are the barrels going to be sturdy enough with a quick change facility? Is a smaller, lighter platform really going to give you the sheer mass you need behind that kind of RoF? Are they going to be rolling out bi-pods? Will potential enemies not learn to distinguish the new equipment that goes with the weapon and start looking for that relatively quickly anyway?

It's all just conjecture to be fair, I'm not looking for anyone to answer all those questions here, nor am I saying the US or any particular companies are doing stuff all wrong. There's probably been shed loads of man hours been put in to answer a lot of these questions, but I get the impression they could be re-making a mistake already made in the past. I can't help thinking this whole "every new gun we get must work just like the m4!" thing is a little out of hand. Soldiers/sailors/airmen aren't stupid, training on a slightly different new weapon really isn't all that difficult or complicated. Ah well, not like it matters all that much to airsoft.

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no, the whole point of it is that it uses LWRC patented gas piston which is one of the best out there.

maybe they will learn to distinguish it, yes, but it will be alot harder... AND this weapon is far far lighter and maneuverable, therefore the Marine using it will be far more fleet of foot.

the rifle was designed from the ground up to be a LIGHT support weapon, but again, NOT replace the SAW in its place as the Squad Automatic Weapon; that will be used for all of the heavy work, this will be used for the light. well, not "this" as LWRC has now been dropped off of the table by the USMC, but the Colt/FNH/HK versions. i still like the LWRC one the most so far (with no first hand use though)

Soldiers/sailors/airmen

you forgot Marines. and no one else is planning on adopting the IAR, JUST the USMC. the army has already made it clear that they are not switching from the M249.

furthermore, CA has not announced that they are making an LWRC IAR...

-Joe

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Ah! You may think that, but a lot of folks don't - which is why some folks get excited by news stories like this and others just say "Big whoop, another Armalite". It is the way of things. The two camps don't always polarize, but when it comes to the news of a new Armalite variant they do. Why anyone wouldn't have realised this already I do not know, but it sure explains a lot of arguments and debates among airsofters when you think about it.

Now perhaps those of us who don't care about this news can just leave it alone, eh? Let the folks who do care enjoy it in peace for a change.

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Didn't forget anything mate, it's a deliberate omission. I don't know about the US but it's not the convention here to always specifically mention the marines when you talk about the whole military, i.e. 'the 3 services'. It's nothing offensive, I'm not belittling anyone, it's just that, a convention.

Either way, regardless of the fact all my CA stuff has done me well, if this will make them up their game a little bit all's the better. The general design of the M15 was probably quite impressive at one time, but compared to the G&P/KA M4s around at the moment, it really doesn't justify the higher price tag in any way.

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well, not "this" as LWRC has now been dropped off of the table by the USMC, but the Colt/FNH/HK versions. i still like the LWRC one the most so far (with no first hand use though)

I still think the LWRC IAR got dropped for political reasons. Everything I've read about the Colt/FN/HK versions just don't sound as promising as the IAR.

Edit:

Ah! You may think that, but a lot of folks don't - which is why some folks get excited by news stories like this and others just say "Big whoop, another Armalite". It is the way of things. The two camps don't always polarize, but when it comes to the news of a new Armalite variant they do. Why anyone wouldn't have realised this already I do not know, but it sure explains a lot of arguments and debates among airsofters when you think about it.

Now perhaps those of us who don't care about this news can just leave it alone, eh? Let the folks who do care enjoy it in peace for a change.

While I say it's 99% illusion I must admit that I'm 100% in support of the illusion. I mean look at all the ridiculous aftermarket parts I have on my guns. Does it really make a difference I have a VLTOR MUR or VIS on my gun? No. But I like it and that's all that matters. That's the core of airsoft right there.